A History of England. Volume III : Civil War

Resource Information

The work A History of England. Volume III : Civil War represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Randwick City Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

A History of England. Volume III : Civil War

Statement of responsibility

Peter Ackroyd

Title variation

History of England

Creator

• Ackroyd, Peter, 1949-

Author

• Ackroyd, Peter, 1949-

Subject

• Great Britain -- History -- Civil War, 1642-1649
• Great Britain -- History -- Stuarts, 1603-1714

Language

eng

Summary

In Civil War, Peter Ackroyd continues his dazzling account of England's history, beginning with the progress south of the Scottish king, James VI, who on the death of Elizabeth I became the first Stuart king of England, and ends with the deposition and flight into exile of his grandson, James II. The Stuart dynasty brought together the two nations of England and Scotland into one realm, albeit a realm still marked by political divisions that echo to this day. More importantly, perhaps, the Stuart era was marked by the cruel depredations of civil war, and the killing of a king. Ackroyd paints a vivid portrait of James I and his heirs. Shrewd and opinionated, the new King was eloquent on matters as diverse as theology, witchcraft and the abuses of tobacco, but his attitude to the English parliament sowed the seeds of the division that would split the country in the reign of his hapless heir, Charles I. Ackroyd offers a brilliant - warts and all - portrayal of Charles's nemesis Oliver Cromwell, Parliament's great military leader and England's only dictator, who began his career as a political liberator but ended it as much of a despot as 'that man of blood', the king he executed. England's turbulent seventeenth century is vividly laid out before us, but so too is the cultural and social life of the period, notable for its extraordinarily rich literature, including Shakespeare's late masterpieces, Jacobean tragedy, the poetry of John Donne and Milton and Thomas Hobbes' great philosophical treatise, Leviathan. Civil War also gives us a very real sense of the lives of ordinary English men and women, lived out against a backdrop of constant disruption and uncertainty

Member of

• History of England

Biography type

contains biographical information

Dewey number

942.06

Illustrations

• illustrations
• plates
• portraits

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Series statement

History of England

Series volume

3